Between the Lines
5/11/2012 10:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
This Week: “We knew what we had to do.” That refrain in some form or another, though mostly exactly that, was heard from every Orange player asked to speak on the subject this week. The situation was simple, win the Big East Tournament or miss the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in three decades. So that Orange did what they had to do, and won the Big East Tourney by an average of eight and a half goals per game.
“The May magic Syracuse has,” Derek Maltz landed on in search of an explanation for the squad's sudden excellence. “It's something the program has always had. It's a little swagger that this program has about them.” The theory, while a tad ethereal, is generally accepted.
“Everyone came out there and I guess we had that Cuse swagger back,” six goals in the tournament Bobby Eilers surmised. “I've been talking to older alumni guys the last couple of days, they said that we're bringing it like it used to be so we like hearing that. Those words of encouragement from other people help us continue playing this way.”
For fellow captain Brian Megill the specter of lose and season's over was quite clarifying. “If you don't take a chance, don't take a risk, there's no guarantee that there's going to be a game tomorrow. Players are starting to take that chance, take that risk, play a little bit looser, feed the ball into places they normally wouldn't. Spots aren't going to get lost now because there is no tomorrow at this point.”
Selection Sunday delivered a tasty first round NCAA matchup with Duke. Whenever three of the last four national champions meet in the playoffs, much less the first round, eyeballs have a tendency of drifting in that direction. The first time around this season the Blue Devils snuck out a 12-10 win over the Orange on April 1st in the Big City Classic. Saturday's rematch in Durham will determine if the April Fools was in fact on Duke.
“They know us, we know them,” Megill properly noted. “We know their personnel, they know our personnel. I think we're starting to gel as a whole and they're going to watch the film just like we are and I think they're going to be surprised at the different team that they're going to see on Saturday.”
For most teams I imagine the pressure of win or go home is at best a non factor and at worst debilitating. For the Orange, the historical backing of 11 national titles has a way of steeling the nerve in the face of season on the line adversity. February-April may have returned a topsy-turvy 7-7 record, but May has arrived and the Syracuse record stands at an unblemished 2-0. Whether it happens or not, this year's squad firmly believes four more wins are possible.
Tales from the Road: A cornucopia of nonsense from the last few weeks. Scene. Western Indiana. I-90. A toll booth. It seems Indiana has opted for attendant free toll booths on its portion of I-90. If you're sporting an E-ZPass or in the local parlance an i-Zoom, no problem, you sail right on through. If you're not, sit back and relax, it might be a while.
If you opt to slide cash into the bill receptor, prepare to be inundated by a rain of dollar coins as change. If something goes wrong and you press the help button, then the real fun begins. En route from Chicago to South Bend we bore witness to some poor schmo literally on hold in the adjacent stall. Elevator music blared from the next lane over as he waited for the blessed go ahead to continue his eastward journey. Being on hold on the phone is bad enough, but stuck on hold at a toll both? Saintly patience is required for that one.
Let's move the scene to the wild and wooly roadways of suburban Philadelphia. Check that, the roads were perfectly calm for the most part. Though if you see a woman in a white minivan sporting Florida plates, cigarette dangling out the driver side window, beeping incessantly at the first flicker of green lights and weaving wildly between lanes…tell her we say hi. Lower Merion hasn't seen that much commotion since Kobe Bryant was in high school.
Tastes from the Road: Now we move to downtown Philly. The first dining option for most is the cheese steak, and if that's your hankering by all means chow down. In fact if the Orange return from Durham victorious and we turn the caravan back towards Brotherly Love next week, my mouth is already watering for a wiz wit. But if you want to be a tad more Revolutionary(wait for it) with your dinner choice, may I present the City Tavern. Originally the main watering hole and dining spot for the founding fathers, now it's a passage back in time with some pretty decent food.
The servers don period appropriate garments, breeches, bodices and the like. And most every dish has some sort of historical context. Martha Washington apparently could bake up a mean chocolate cake while Thomas Jefferson(TJ to the current help) was a renowned brewer of beer. Two items I'll recommend are the pork chop and the apple cobbler. The chop is first salt cured then apple wood smoked, the end result being a tasty chop/ham amalgamation. I tab the cobbler more for its topping than base. It's a fine cobbler for sure, but the cinnamon ice cream provided by neighboring Bassetts is dynamic. Though those who had the cake are ready to swear by Martha's recipe.
Next Broadcast: In a change from the last four years the Orange will help kick off the first round of the playoffs rather than anchor it. Due to graduation and convocation in the Carrier Dome Sunday at 7:30 has been Syracuse's standard first round home. This year instead brings a road trip to Duke, and with it a noon Saturday faceoff time. The farthest flung SU Lax season ever plops the team on a plane for the fourth time. For those not leaving the Cuse for a weekend in Durham, we have you covered on TK99 and ESPN 97.7. For displaced Orange fans, Orange All Access is your guide through the playoffs.
If you have a recommendation for the best Carolina Q in the Research Triangle, make your argument @BrianHigginsSU.
“The May magic Syracuse has,” Derek Maltz landed on in search of an explanation for the squad's sudden excellence. “It's something the program has always had. It's a little swagger that this program has about them.” The theory, while a tad ethereal, is generally accepted.
“Everyone came out there and I guess we had that Cuse swagger back,” six goals in the tournament Bobby Eilers surmised. “I've been talking to older alumni guys the last couple of days, they said that we're bringing it like it used to be so we like hearing that. Those words of encouragement from other people help us continue playing this way.”
For fellow captain Brian Megill the specter of lose and season's over was quite clarifying. “If you don't take a chance, don't take a risk, there's no guarantee that there's going to be a game tomorrow. Players are starting to take that chance, take that risk, play a little bit looser, feed the ball into places they normally wouldn't. Spots aren't going to get lost now because there is no tomorrow at this point.”
Selection Sunday delivered a tasty first round NCAA matchup with Duke. Whenever three of the last four national champions meet in the playoffs, much less the first round, eyeballs have a tendency of drifting in that direction. The first time around this season the Blue Devils snuck out a 12-10 win over the Orange on April 1st in the Big City Classic. Saturday's rematch in Durham will determine if the April Fools was in fact on Duke.
“They know us, we know them,” Megill properly noted. “We know their personnel, they know our personnel. I think we're starting to gel as a whole and they're going to watch the film just like we are and I think they're going to be surprised at the different team that they're going to see on Saturday.”
For most teams I imagine the pressure of win or go home is at best a non factor and at worst debilitating. For the Orange, the historical backing of 11 national titles has a way of steeling the nerve in the face of season on the line adversity. February-April may have returned a topsy-turvy 7-7 record, but May has arrived and the Syracuse record stands at an unblemished 2-0. Whether it happens or not, this year's squad firmly believes four more wins are possible.
Tales from the Road: A cornucopia of nonsense from the last few weeks. Scene. Western Indiana. I-90. A toll booth. It seems Indiana has opted for attendant free toll booths on its portion of I-90. If you're sporting an E-ZPass or in the local parlance an i-Zoom, no problem, you sail right on through. If you're not, sit back and relax, it might be a while.
If you opt to slide cash into the bill receptor, prepare to be inundated by a rain of dollar coins as change. If something goes wrong and you press the help button, then the real fun begins. En route from Chicago to South Bend we bore witness to some poor schmo literally on hold in the adjacent stall. Elevator music blared from the next lane over as he waited for the blessed go ahead to continue his eastward journey. Being on hold on the phone is bad enough, but stuck on hold at a toll both? Saintly patience is required for that one.
Let's move the scene to the wild and wooly roadways of suburban Philadelphia. Check that, the roads were perfectly calm for the most part. Though if you see a woman in a white minivan sporting Florida plates, cigarette dangling out the driver side window, beeping incessantly at the first flicker of green lights and weaving wildly between lanes…tell her we say hi. Lower Merion hasn't seen that much commotion since Kobe Bryant was in high school.
Tastes from the Road: Now we move to downtown Philly. The first dining option for most is the cheese steak, and if that's your hankering by all means chow down. In fact if the Orange return from Durham victorious and we turn the caravan back towards Brotherly Love next week, my mouth is already watering for a wiz wit. But if you want to be a tad more Revolutionary(wait for it) with your dinner choice, may I present the City Tavern. Originally the main watering hole and dining spot for the founding fathers, now it's a passage back in time with some pretty decent food.
The servers don period appropriate garments, breeches, bodices and the like. And most every dish has some sort of historical context. Martha Washington apparently could bake up a mean chocolate cake while Thomas Jefferson(TJ to the current help) was a renowned brewer of beer. Two items I'll recommend are the pork chop and the apple cobbler. The chop is first salt cured then apple wood smoked, the end result being a tasty chop/ham amalgamation. I tab the cobbler more for its topping than base. It's a fine cobbler for sure, but the cinnamon ice cream provided by neighboring Bassetts is dynamic. Though those who had the cake are ready to swear by Martha's recipe.
Next Broadcast: In a change from the last four years the Orange will help kick off the first round of the playoffs rather than anchor it. Due to graduation and convocation in the Carrier Dome Sunday at 7:30 has been Syracuse's standard first round home. This year instead brings a road trip to Duke, and with it a noon Saturday faceoff time. The farthest flung SU Lax season ever plops the team on a plane for the fourth time. For those not leaving the Cuse for a weekend in Durham, we have you covered on TK99 and ESPN 97.7. For displaced Orange fans, Orange All Access is your guide through the playoffs.
If you have a recommendation for the best Carolina Q in the Research Triangle, make your argument @BrianHigginsSU.
Postgame | #7 Syracuse at #19 Penn
Monday, March 02
HIGHLIGHTS | #7 Men's Lacrosse at #19 Penn
Sunday, March 01
HIGHLIGHTS | #7 Men's Lacrosse at #10 Princeton
Saturday, February 28
Postgame | #7 Syracuse at #10 Princeton
Saturday, February 28
